So, can you double the rap whip recipe? I made one batch earlier that was gorgeous but it wasn't as much as I was expecting so I just made it again and doubled it to save some for later in the week and it turned out weird and grainy looking. Almost like the oil was separating? Of course it's possible I mis-measured something, but I was being really careful since I knew a mess up meant a trip to the store late at night. Ugh.

Just made my first recipe from this, Blueberry-Ginger Hand Pies with lemon glaze. So good! My SO has never been a fan of crust and usually leaves it uneaten. But he LOVED the crust, he's already devoured 2 hand pies and says they taste like pastry :-). Next up is Strawberry-Rhubarb crumb pie.

Last night I made the Cosmos Apple Pie. It's delicious even though my crust overcooked in that first 25 minutes. Not sure what happened. But I covered the edges for the rest of the baking time and it was fine. I still haven't made the Strawberry Rhubarb because I'm waiting to get to the health food store to find tapioca flour. Assuming I'll find it there, have never seen it before.

Bl, tapioca flour should not be too hard to find since it is used often in gluten free flour mixes. In my conventional grocery store I can find it in the baking section and also in the natural foods/gluten free section. It should not be very expensive.

I was too poor to buy stuff to make myself a birthday cake this year so I made the Summer Fruit Buckle Cake instead. I used peaches/nectarines I had in the freezer. It was amazing. The cardamom, I think, is what really makes it a knockout. Definitely going to make it again and try other fruits. YUM.

The only thing I left out was almond extract because I have none (my husband hates it, lol). I think that more fruit would be good but not necessarily a must, because the cake is mighty tender and tasty as is. It's almost like a cobbler with reversed proportions of fruit/cake.

I finally made the Strawberry-Rhubarb last night. I found the tapioca flour at my regular supermarket in the natural section's gluten-free aisle. Think it was a little over $4. I live over an hour from the Asian grocery so convenience usually wins out over cost w/ me. The pie was SO GOOD! And the crust was a dream to work with. Before this cookbook I was so intimidated by pie crusts. The only kind I ever made before was a press in the pan one. Now I actually enjoy making them!

I will say that it was *not* as good the second day - warming it might have helped, but the fruit was starting to make it a little gooey. Most of it got gobbled down the first day, though, so that was not a huge issue.

eee I kinda screwed up the Salted Caramel pie thing. I've made caramel before but not in a long time. I boiled it covered for 2 minutes as directed, then took the lid off and turned the heat down and prepared to keep an eye on it for like 20 min like the recipe says. Somewhere in the first 5 minutes I remembered "duh, I have a candy thermometer" and stuck it in the pot and well, it was already at 230 degrees and rapidly advancing. I should've listened to the thermometer because I let it keep cooking for another 5 minutes, thinking "that was way too fast" and the color also wasn't right - it never got much beyond a pale color, certainly not a dark amber. I ended up with super-hard caramel. Bummer but I guess next time I will go with what the thermometer says!

I made the peanut butter cheesecake for a seder this weekend (with a speculoos cookie crust instead of the brownie bottom; it seemed less overtly offensive to Passover :) (don't worry guests knew the crust wasn't kosher for P)). It was AMAZING. I've made a lot from this book and everyone has raved about all of it. Happy that this was no different. Yay I can make cheesecakes!